


Christmas Party

by Hisa_Ai



Series: 31 Days of Christmas [18]
Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: 31 Days of fic, AU, Christmas, Christmas Party, Christmas Prompt, Day 18, F/M, Fights, Idiots, Jealousy, M/M, Modern Day, Party, Prompt Fic, Trouble, Yule, modern day AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-18
Updated: 2013-12-18
Packaged: 2018-01-05 03:59:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1089373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hisa_Ai/pseuds/Hisa_Ai
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Gwen decides she wants to throw a Christmas party that doesn't end in drunken stupidity this year. Too bad for her, she invited Arthur, Gwaine, Percival, and Leon to it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Christmas Party

* * *

 

"Remind me again why we're doing this." Arthur grumbled, tugging at the collar of his coat as Merlin raised a hand and rang the doorbell just next to the bright red door they were staring at, a colorful and cheerful wreath hanging smack in the center of it. Merlin turned to him, gave him a stern look.

"Because they're our  _friends_." He told him, shaking his head.

"Right, but… a Christmas party? We both know this isn't going to end well." Arthur pointed out, shifting on his feet as he watched Merlin roll his eyes.

Okay, so  _maybe_  he had no solid evidence that the night was going to be a disaster and  _maybe_  Gwen and Lancelot's party would go off without a hitch and it would become a yearly tradition for the friends, but it just as easily could go the other way and the night would end in disaster and chaos and Arthur would just be left standing there, shaking his head and shooting Merlin his 'I told you so' look.

There was always the chance, anyway.

"Gwen's wanted to throw a party of her own for  _years_  now and you know it," Merlin told him. "And now that her and Lance are married and bought a house together, she can finally do it. So you're going to be  _civil_  and behave yourself. You're going to  _smile_  and drink eggnog and eat Christmas cookies and act like you're happy for our friends. And God help you if Gwen says  _one word_ of you being off moping in the corner, Arthur Pendragon…" he threatened, his eyes hard and narrowed at him.

Arthur pressed his lips into a thin line, Merlin was  _hot_  when he was threatening him, there was no doubt about it, but… A Christmas party. Really? Arthur didn't much like them when  _Merlin_  was the one throwing them, let alone when his friends did it. Anything else he would have showed up for—hell, Gwaine could have sent him a text telling him they were going to slay a dragon and he would have game—but a party? It had taken Merlin  _quite_  a bit of threatening and persuading to get him to change into something presentable and haul his ass over to Gwen and Lance's house, that was for sure.

"And at least this time you don't have to worry about cleaning up afterwards," Merlin added, softening his gaze as he slipped his free arm around Arthur's waist, his other arm holding a bottle of wine and a tin of cookies he had insisted on gifting to Gwen and Lance for having them over.

Arthur let out a sigh, "Fine. Maybe you're right, maybe this won't be so bad. But," he smirked, one of his gloved hands coming up the back of Merlin's neck. "They better have some mistletoe up in there,"

Merlin laughed, tilted his head towards Arthur, his breath wispy in the cool night air but warm on Arthur's lips as he leaned close slowly, eyes falling shut as their foreheads almost touched. Arthur's lips tingled in anticipation as he tugged on Merlin's hair, the clicking of a door opening not registering until Lancelot cleared his throat, a chuckle of a sound that had Arthur frowning as Merlin untangled himself from Arthur and beamed at Lancelot and Gwen sheepishly.

"Glad you two could make it," Gwen said knowingly.

"Are you kidding? We wouldn't miss this for the world—right Arthur?" Merlin told them, squeezing Arthur's hip when he just frowned in response, taking in Gwen and Lance and their, frankly, domestic attire. Matching red, ugly Christmas jumpers layered over green collars, khaki pants, and rosy cheeks. Lance was even wearing a set of  _antlers_  with bells attached to them on his head. What a waste of a man.

"I  _might_  miss it for that kiss you two just interrupted." He grumbled in response, flinching when Merlin dug his elbow into his side.

Gwen and Lancelot laughed and ushered them in, Merlin handing them the gifts as they passed them and then shrugging out of their coats and throwing them into a closet that Lancelot indicated they should leave them at.

As Merlin walked off with Gwen to go put the wine away, Arthur stood in the doorway with Lance, looking around at the nice little get-together they had organized. There were a couple of tables full of festive food and drink—though the  _good_   _stuff_  was in the kitchen, Arthur already knew, from the sight of the little kids running around—Christmas music playing softly in the background, games set up for the kids, some Christmas movie playing in the dining room, the whole room decked out in Christmas lights and decorations galore. All their friends were all milling about, talking, laughing, eating, drinking, and already having a good time.

Elyan, Leon, Gwaine, Percival, Freya, Will, Morgana, and a plethora of other people and children, some that Arthur knew and some he didn't, were filling up the room, the whole thing just  _bursting_  with the sort of love and holiday cheer that Arthur knew Gwen loved.

Yes, he was actually quite glad that  _Gwen_  had wanted to throw the party this year. Arthur would have  _hated_  to have to clean up after all these people.

"If you still want that kiss later on," Lance told him with a grin. "There's some mistletoe in every doorway. I'm pretty sure you can corner Merlin at some point or another." He nodded upwards, stepping covertly out of the line of fire as he pointed it out. Arthur nodded his thanks, a sly grin on his face as he walked around the room and found his way to Gwaine, Leon, and Percival standing around the table with the sweets and candy on it, stuffing handfuls into their pockets and slipping the children pieces every now and then when no one else was looking.

"Freya would have your head if she caught you slipping her niece so much candy, you know," he told Gwaine, clapping him on the shoulder as he snuck up on him. The child in question, a brunette little girl who had a knack for attracting trouble, bolted off, already having scored her candy from him.

Gwaine clicked his tongue at him, "Aw, it's a party, she'd get over it eventually." He grinned in response, picking up a cookie shaped like Santa Claus and biting the head off it.

"Yeah, right a _fter_  she drowned you, anyway. How's it going around here? Miss anything good?" Arthur asked, picking up a chocolate chip cookie and sniffing it before he bit into it. It was warm, chewy, delicious; Arthur was sure it had been made with a recipe Lance had gotten from Merlin, as his knack for baking happened to exceed Gwen's.

"Nope, been pretty boring so far." Percival told him. "What took you guys so long to get here, anyway? Thought Merlin would want to be here early to help set things up."

"He did, but we, uhm, got distracted while he was trying to convince me why we had to come." He grinned around his mouthful of cookie, knowing the guys would catch his meaning.

"What, pre-party sex? Really? Doesn't he normally make you work for something like that?" Gwaine asked.

"It's  _Christmas_ , Gwaine." Arthur shrugged suggestively. "And then Gwen and Lance interrupted a moment on the porch just now, so I'm pretty sure after-party sex is on the table, too. Though I  _really_  would have liked that kiss…" he sighed in defeat, scanning the room as the others rolled their eyes and took to chatting about the other party-goers, placing bets on who'd get drunk first and what sort of stupid things they would do and who would have to record it for blackmail purposes.

Strange, normally, at an event like this, Merlin was back at his side as soon as he could manage, not trusting Arthur not to do or say something colossally stupid in front of everyone. Where was he, Arthur was actually starting to miss his presence…

"—And if Will has  _one_  more glass of eggnog, I'm pretty sure he'll try to make-out with Merlin under the mistletoe," Gwaine was saying, catching Arthur's attention instantly. Will was one of Merlin's best friends from when he was a child, but if he tried to kiss Merlin, Arthur had no problem knocking him out where he stood.

Not that he was the jealous type or anything.

"What?" Arthur asked, a bit more defensive than he meant to be.

"Will," Leon said. "You know he's been pining after Merlin for years now, right?" he asked, his face too wide and innocent.

"Since when?" he demanded, sure this was the first he was hearing of such a thing. Merlin had assured him that nothing had ever happened between him and Will, that he was practically a brother to him. Arthur had met him, hung out with him, liked him well enough; let him into his house, his home with  _Merlin_ , and now he was finding out that he had been pining after him? Somehow, he felt misled, cheated almost.

"Dunno, always, I think." Percival shrugged, nodding over to where Will was downing a glass of, thanks to Gwaine, heavily spiked eggnog, as Gwen would never put out alcohol-laced eggnog with so many children running about, and leaning into a conversation he was having with Freya, who was giggling about whatever it was he was saying.

"But Merlin said—"

"I don't think Merlin  _knows_ ," Gwaine interrupted. "Look how long it took you two to get together because neither of you knew the other felt the same way. I love Merlin just as much as you, but he's never been the best at deducing when someone's romantically interested in him, now has he?" Gwaine asked, nodding towards the kitchen as Merlin walked out of it, talking to Gwen about something as he held two glasses in his hands, his grin widening when he caught sight of Arthur and their friends.

Merlin handed him the cup when he slid up to him, planted a kiss on his cheek and slipped his arm through Arthur's, chatting with the others about how their holidays have been and other various things that Arthur didn't pay much attention to, much too occupied on Will and what he was doing, how he was behaving.

Were they  _right?_   _Was_  Will in love with Merlin and planning to make his move under the mistletoe? He would just have to keep Merlin away from doorways for the rest of the night then, since he knew damn well he wasn't going to be able to keep him away from one of his best friends.

Merlin left his side at some point, talking about how he needed to go catch up with Freya and Will for a little while and if Leon could make sure Arthur didn't do anything stupid or borderline illegal, he'd really appreciate it.

The boys, in turn, spent a good amount of time milling about, holding half-way decent "adult" conversations when necessary, but mostly sneaking the children sweets and laughing at immature jokes, drinking too much eggnog, and really just enjoying themselves as they could.

Gwaine, at one point, had made it his mission to catch everyone at the party under the mistletoe and had stationed himself in the doorway leading to the kitchen, catching Percival, Morgana, Gwen, even Merlin under it before Lance had told him if he didn't knock it off he was going to cut him off and make him play in the kiddie corner away from the sugar and alcohol. Moping like a child, he made his way back to a brooding Arthur, who was thoughtlessly munching on some chips, sipping his eggnog, watching Merlin and Will chat about something or another much too close to a doorway for Arthur's taste.

"What's wrong with  _you_ , princess?" Gwaine asked, half a smile twisting itself back onto his face as Arthur scowled at him and then Will and Merlin. His blood was boiling at the sight. Just…  _knowing_  that Will had feelings for Merlin—his Merlin—made the innocent enough looking conversation seem like something entirely different. He could almost  _feel_  Will trying to inch Merlin closer and closer to the doorway, where he was going to make his move. And Arthur had been watching him, he'd had two more glasses of eggnog since he and Merlin had arrived, putting Arthur even more on edge.

"Them—Will—you know." He hissed, coherent sentences not his friend at the moment. He loved Merlin, he trusted him, but a drunk Will was a different matter entirely.

"Oh you mean—?" Gwaine asked, nodded towards them as he took Arthur's cup from him and sipped from it.

"Yes, of course—what else would I mean?"

"No need to bite my head off, it's not me you've got the problem with, now is it? Why don't you just… do that talking thing Merlin likes to do so much? See if you can't, er, sort it out or something? I can't actually advise you to start a fight—Gwen would have both our heads—but if it goes down that road…" he shrugged again and nodded towards Percival, Elyan, and Leon. "We've got your back if you need it." He promised. Arthur gave him a look, he knew Gwaine was just looking for some entertainment since nothing else was going on—at Merlin's usual Christmas party, there was always some drunken hi-jinks going down by this point in the night, and Arthur knew he was growing restless from all the peace and quiet.

"If I start a fight, it's not Gwen I'm going to have to worry about and you know it," Arthur rolled his eyes. "But… maybe I  _should_  just talk to him…" he mumbled, already beginning his walk over to Merlin and Will.

With a small, polite smile, he asked Will if he might borrow Merlin for just a moment and then tugged him towards the door on the farside of the room, nervously fidgeting with the collar of his shirt as he tried to find the words to express his problem. He was not one for words and he knew it. In fact, he should have thought for two seconds what he was going to say before he just pulled Merlin away, but, ah, it was too late now, now wasn't it?

"Arthur?" Merlin asked, his tone worried as he nudged Arthur's chin up to look at him, his eyes full of the same wonder and worry in his tone. "What's wrong?" he asked gently, stroking the side of his face with his thumb.

"Ah, it's… it's nothing, nevermind." He shrugged, forcing himself to smile lightly. Of course he was just being ridiculous and jealous and it wasn't even worth wasting Merlin's time on it.

Merlin's frown deepened for a moment before quirking up into a smile as he glanced up in the doorway. "Is this about before on the porch?" he asked. "I know Gwen and Lance interrupted us…" he trailed off, one hand on Arthur's cheek, one coming up to the back of his neck and tugging him forward, his lips catching him in the most bittersweet sort of ways that made all Arthur's jealousy and self-loathing melt away. His arms came up to wrap themselves around Merlin, one tugging him closer around his waist, one around his neck, desperate to keep him close for as long as possible before he broke off and laughed breathlessly against his lips, sending a shiver down Arthur's spine as the room broke out in applause and wolf-whistles.

Still laughing, Arthur leaned down and captured Merlin's lips again, placing several small kisses on his lips, the nape of his neck before Elyan appeared and told them they needed to keep it clean for the small children in the room. With a roll of his eyes, Arthur moved out from under the mistletoe, tugging Merlin along with him to grab something to eat from a nearby table.

The rest of the night went quite smoothly, all things considered, and Arthur would be lying if he said he hated it entirely. Gwaine might have been left quite disappointed that no fights broke out, and no one got so drunk that they started dancing on tables or daring each other to jump off the roof with a sheet to see if it worked as a parachute, but everyone else, really, seemed ot have a good time.

As they were collecting their coats and Arthur caught Will's eye as he was leading Freya and her niece out the front door, he smiled at him, all his hostility and jealousy just  _gone_.

"Arthur," Lancelot caught him just as he and Merlin were about to leave, arm-in-arm.

"Yeah?"

"Elyan just told me what those idiots were up to earlier tonight," he nodded back towards Leon as he stumbled through the closet and yanked out his coat, waited for Gwaine and Percival to do the same. "So I just wanted to thank you for… I don't know, being the bigger man and not starting a fight. Gwen and I really appreciate it." He insisted, giving him a thankful smile.

Merlin shot Arthur a curious look as his eyes came together in a harsh glare, staring down the three idiots in question as realization set in. Those.  _Bastards_. If there was anyone he should knock out, it should be those three…

"What are you talking about?" Merlin asked curiously.

"Arthur didn't tell you? Well, apparently, just after you two got here, Leon, Gwaine, and Percy were filling Arthur's head with these stories of Will being in love with you and hell-bent on catching you under the mistletoe tonight," he shrugged, almost amused with it. "Told him that if he had another glass of eggnog, he'd try to make his move. Really got under his skin with it all." His tone was almost apologetic. But  _Lance_  was not the one who should have been sorry. No, those three  _idiots_  he called his friends were the ones who were going to be sorry— _very_  sorry indeed.

"Will in love with  _me?"_ Merlin snorted. "He's so into Freya you couldn't pay him enough to kiss anyone else—let alone  _me."_ He turned to Arthur, his face softening. "You actually thought that? Is that why you've been acting so strange all night? Is that what you were going to talk to me about under the mistletoe?" he asked, his tone suggesting a reassuring kiss was about to come Arthur's way.

"Sorry, if you two will excuse me," Arthur untangled his arm from Merlin's, eyes still set on Leon, Gwaine, and Percival as they walked through the hallway, nearing the front door. "I have some idiots to attend to."

So Gwaine would get his drunken, party entertainment after all, it would seem. And all it would cost him was a split lip, a bloody nose, and death threats from Gwen and Merlin for the remainder of the year.

And Arthur's 'I told you so' look might have been hindered by his black eye, but he was _pretty sure_  Merlin got the message regardless.

 

* * *

 

 

 


End file.
